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100 Longest Rivers in South America - with a Map

With the help of the map, name the 100 longest rivers and river systems on the South American continent!
Main source: river-specific sites of Wikipedia (DE, EN, ES, PT).
As many languages list different lengths, one option had to be selected
See comments for further terminology
Additional waters (headwaters, traversed lakes etc.) can be found in quiz and answer stats
More continents in this series: Europe, North America
Quiz by Gassu
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Last updated: June 26, 2022
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First submittedJune 26, 2022
Times taken1,736
Average score23.0%
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Length
(km)
Length
(mi)
River
6’992
4’346
Amazon
4’880
3’033
Paraná
3’380
2’101
Madeira
3’379
2’100
Purus
3’283
2’040
Juruá
2’863
1’779
São Francisco
2’820
1’753
Japurá
2’695
1’675
Paraguay
2’580
1’603
Xingu
2’460
1’529
Tocantins
2’355
1’464
Salado del Norte
2’340
1’454
Uruguay
2’291
1’424
Tapajós
2’253
1’400
Negro (Amazon)
2’140
1’330
Orinoco
2’115
1’314
Araguaia
1’813
1’127
Putumayo
1’760
1’094
Guaviare
1’707
1’061
Marañón
1’619
1’006
Beni
1’590
988
Pilcomayo
1’530
951
Guaporé
1’528
950
Magdalena
1’498
931
Desaguadero
1’493
928
Itonomas
1’485
923
Parnaíba
1’450
901
Bermejo
1’430
889
Branco
1’389
863
Colorado
1’370
851
Apaporis
1’350
839
Cauca
1’320
820
Iguazú
1’310
814
Orthon
1’300
808
Inírida
1’300
808
Iriri
1’252
778
Negro (Argentina)
1’240
771
Juruena
1’210
752
Madre de Dios
1’190
740
Acre
1’184
736
Yavarí
1’170
727
Paranaíba
1’138
707
Huallaga
1’137
707
Paraíba do Sul
1’130
702
Napo
1’130
702
Tietê
1’110
690
Aripuanã
1’110
690
Tigre
1’100
684
Meta
1’095
681
Apure
1’090
677
Jequitinhonha
Length
(km)
Length
(mi)
River
1’087
676
Blanco
1’060
659
Yata
1’050
653
Arauca
1’050
653
Jutaí
1’050
653
Vaupés
1’041
647
Itapecuru
1’014
630
Essequibo
990
615
Abacaxis
980
609
Cuiabá
956
594
Doce
952
592
Caroní
930
578
Mearim
929
577
Paranapanema
900
559
Canumã
873
543
Courantyne
862
536
Urubamba
850
528
Das Mortes
842
523
Taquari
820
510
Ji-Paraná
812
505
Dulce
810
503
Chubut
809
503
Mantaro
802
498
Das Velhas
800
497
Curaray
790
491
Atuel
790
491
Jacuí
790
491
Tapauá
770
479
Grajaú
760
472
Roosevelt
760
472
Trombetas
750
466
Arinos
750
466
Atrato
750
466
Negro (Uruguay)
747
464
Iaco
740
460
Pastaza
733
456
Manuripi
723
449
Caura
720
447
Gurupí
720
447
Pindaré
715
444
Tarauacá
710
441
Guamá
710
441
Paru
710
441
Paru de Oeste
710
441
San Martín
694
431
Jari
690
429
Chico
690
429
Mamorecillo
690
429
San Juan
685
426
Ivaí
680
423
Tapiche
+4
Level 70
Jun 26, 2022
Terminology Used:

River: A body of water bearing the same name for its course

River system: A system which consists of at least two rivers. There are, however, requirements for this:

A river system has been assumed if it has

1. its source in a lake which is fed by a river of another name (e.g. Senguerr River -> Lake Colhué-Huapi -> Chico River)

2. its source at the confluence of two rivers, then following the longer stem (e.g. Amazon -> Ucayali stem)

This in return means, that a longer tributary joining the main river later somewhere along its way is NOT considered a river system (e.g. Tocantins - Araguaia)

N.B. I only considered information currently available in Wikipedia. Most lengths seem quite rounded and it’s highly possible they don’t depict the true length, especially with tons of meanders.

(1/2)

+4
Level 70
Jun 26, 2022
Some rivers (mainly in Argentina) may not carry water at all times. For the purposes of this quiz series, we consider dry or half-dry rivers equal to perennial rivers.

All headwaters included can be found in quiz stats.

Stay tuned, Oceania is coming next!

(2/2)

+2
Level 53
Sep 9, 2023
My country, Chile, is so wide that no river long enough can enter this list 😔